Day 11, Missoula, MT to Helena, MT

I am pictured with Larry and Kelli Oaks of Houston, Texas. This is their 4^th cross country bicycle ride. I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting some of the nicest people one would ever dream of associating with. I find their stories fascinating. 

We leave for our destination of the day at first light, which was around 6:30 this morning. One order of business is to get our bicycle ready for the day. Pictured here is Jim Cox, a retired military officer pumping up his tire. Helping him is his wife Gretchen who came for a few days to provide him with companionship and support.

Lunch stop today was 59 miles from the start. We enjoyed the “big sky” state of Montana all day long. The longest day of our entire journey was made considerably less grueling by a fairly strong tailwind. The rest day did make the going a lot easier too. Our team of 4 arrived at our destination in reasonably good form, both physical and mental.

Today, we crossed the Continental Divide at Macdonald Pass.

We entered Lewis and Clark County, Montana. You can see by our clothing that the weather was cold today.

I took a couple of spills from my bicycle today. One was a dynamic fall while moving at a slow speed and one was a static fall when a gust of wind proved to be strong enough to topple me over to the right side while my shoe was clipped in to the pedal. I think my ego was more bruised than my body. I will just have to be that much more careful going forward so that my trip does not prematurely end because of a simple blunder.

So today I thought of the good work done by Lewis County Search and Rescue. If I succeeded in bringing to you some joy with this blog, please make a contribution of at least $1 to Lewis County Search and Rescue.